Allergy Testing

What is an Allergy?

Your immune system is designed to discover foreign invaders and defend against them. This is how your body fights off colds, but allergies are the downside to this complex system. Once the immune system decides something is dangerous, it tags it to prevent future invasions. Unfortunately, that approach can go haywire when an innocuous substance is tagged. For the allergy sufferer, this means when contact is made with the harmless substance, the immune system responds. If allergic to cat dander for instance, you have a tag for it known as an antibody. When you enter a house with cats, your immune system creates an inflammatory response which includes:

• Itchy eyes
• Sneezing
• Congestion
• Skin rash or hives

All this occurs despite the fact that cat dander isn’t dangerous. Allergy testing allows our team to discover what innocuous substances trigger the allergic responses you may be suffering from so you can find relief.

How are Skin Tests Performed?

Skin tests are performed in several different ways with the most common being the scratch test. A scratch or puncture in the skin allows the suspected allergens, like cat dander, to enter the body. Within 20 minutes, if allergic, a reaction will have occurred.

An intradermal skin test is similar, but the substance is injected just under the skin surface with each puncture site labeled with the potential allergen. A patch test involves just taping the allergen to the skin and watching for a reaction over the next few days.

How are Allergy Blood Tests Performed?

With a blood test, a technician examines your blood looking for antibodies. Blood draws are taken in the office then sent to the lab for testing measuring different antibody levels. A blood test may be ordered if you have severe skin reaction like eczema which render skin testing difficult, or if the reaction requires you to continue taking medication to safely counteract it.